FY2013 Budget Documents:
Internet and GPO Availability
Jared Conrad Nagel
Information Research Specialist
April 2, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R42384
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Summary
Every year the President submits a series of volumes to Congress containing the President’s
proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The President’s submission is required on or after the
first Monday in January but not later than the first Monday in February.
This report provides brief descriptions of the budget volumes and related documents, together
with Internet addresses, Government Printing Office (GPO) stock numbers, and prices for
obtaining print copies of these publications. It also explains how to find the locations of
government depository libraries, which can provide both printed copies for reference use and
Internet access to the online versions. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Please note that neither the Congressional Research Service (CRS) nor the Library of Congress
(LOC) distributes print copies of the budget documents.

Congressional Research Service

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
The President’s Budget Documents, Fiscal Year 2013 .................................................................... 1
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2013 ............................................................ 1
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2013 (CD-ROM)......................................... 1
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013.............. 2
Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013.................................... 2
Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013 ........................ 3
Economic Report of the President, 2012 ......................................................................................... 3
Agency Budget Justifications .......................................................................................................... 3
Additional Comparative Budget Data by Agency and Account ...................................................... 5
Public Budget Database, Fiscal Year 2013 ................................................................................ 5
Congressional Budget Office........................................................................................................... 5
Budget and Economic Outlook: FY2012-FY2022.................................................................... 5
Analysis of the President’s FY2013 Budget.............................................................................. 5
GPO Ordering Information.............................................................................................................. 6
Depository Libraries ........................................................................................................................ 6
Websites on Budget Legislation....................................................................................................... 6
Congressional Staff.................................................................................................................... 6
Public Use.................................................................................................................................. 7

Contacts
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................. 7

Congressional Research Service

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Introduction
The President’s budget for FY2013 consists of a multivolume set of materials issued by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The materials contain information on new budget
proposals, summary tables, detailed financial information on individual programs and accounts,
economic analysis, historical data, explanations of the budget processes, and supporting
documents. Every year the President submits these materials to Congress at the start of the budget
cycle for the next fiscal year. The President’s submission is required on or after the first Monday
in January but not later than the first Monday in February (31 U.S.C. §1105a).
Other budget-related documents released this year include the annual Economic Report of the
President, issued in February by the Council of Economic Advisors, and the Budget and
Economic Outlook, an annual publication issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Details on these publications are included in this report.
The President’s Budget Documents, Fiscal Year 2013
Both OMB and the Government Printing Office (GPO) provide Internet access to the main and
supporting budget documents, spreadsheet files, the public budget database, and budget
amendments and supplementals proposed by the President. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
budget and http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET,
respectively. Information on purchasing print copies of these documents appears below along with
a brief description of the contents of each document.
OMB provides additional information on agency budgets and key issues in the form of fact
sheets, found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget_factsheets_key. Federal programs that
have been recommended by the Administration for termination or reduction are detailed in the
document entitled Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/
omb/budget/TRS.
The budget set consists of the following documents and CD-ROM materials.
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2013
This document contains information, charts, and graphs pertaining to the President’s new budget
proposals and overviews of government activities by agency and topic (e.g., “Building a Strong
Economy,” and “Cutting Waste, Reducing the Deficit, and Asking All to Pay Their Fair Share”).
Summary tables (pp. 203-246) contain projections of budget baselines, receipts, and outlays;
deficits; debt; discretionary spending; and economic projections from FY2011 to FY2022.
(GPO stock number 041-001-00690-7, $39, 250 pages)
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2013 (CD-ROM)
The FY2013 Budget CD-ROM contains the full content of the budget documents and most
supporting documents for the budget in PDF files. Some data files are also included in
spreadsheet format. The CD-ROM provides software to search, display, and print.
(GPO stock number 041-001-00694-0, $27)
Congressional Research Service
1

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2013
This volume includes economic, accounting, and crosscutting analyses of government programs
and activities designed to highlight specific subject areas and provide other significant
presentations of budget data to place the budget in perspective. It also includes information on
federal receipts and collections, analyses of federal spending, detailed information on federal
borrowing and debt, baseline or current service estimates, and other technical presentations.
Chapter 18, “Aid to State and Local Governments,” contains a series of tables (pp. 287-341) that
provide selected grant and other federal assistance data by state.
The FY2013 Analytical Perspectives volume also contains supplemental materials including
tables showing the budget by agency and account and by function, sub-function, and program.
This supplemental material is available on a CD-ROM, in the printed document, or on the GPO
website at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET.
(GPO stock number 041-001-00693-1, $53, 493 pages)
Appendix, Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2013
Designed primarily for the use of the House and Senate appropriations committees, the FY2013
Appendix contains more detailed financial information on individual programs and appropriations
accounts than any of the other budget documents submitted by the President. For each agency it
provides the following:
• the proposed text of the appropriation language,
• budget schedules for each account,
• new legislative proposals,
• explanations of the work to be performed and the funds needed, and
• proposed general provisions applicable to the appropriations of entire agencies or
groups of agencies.
Typically, these elements are distinguished by varying font and typeface, so that proposed
appropriations (italics) and prior year funding (brackets) can be compared at a glance. The
following example is from the FY2013 Budget Appendix:
“For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General in carrying out the provisions of
the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), [$26,946,000] $28,753,000. (Department
of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2012).” 1
(GPO stock number 041-001-00691-5, $76, 1,472 pages)

1 Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General, from page 203 of the FY2013 Budget Appendix.
Congressional Research Service
2

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2013
These detailed tables cover budget deficit/surplus, outlays, receipts, discretionary and mandatory
spending, federal debt, federal employment, payments for individuals, spending by function and
agency, and grants to states and local governments. This volume provides some data from 1940
(or earlier) through estimates for FY2017. Historical data are adjusted by OMB to be consistent
with the FY2013 Budget and to provide comparability over time.
(GPO stock number 041-001-00692-3, $50, 356 pages)
Economic Report of the President, 2012
This year’s annual Economic Report of the President, transmitted to Congress in February 2012,
presents the Administration’s report on its economic policies and contains the annual report of the
Council of Economic Advisors. The report is available from the Council of Economic Advisors
website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/economic-report-of-the-President.
It presents an overview of the nation’s economic progress using text and extensive data
appendices. Appendix B of the Economic Report includes current and historical statistics on
major aspects of economic activity (pp. 307-446). Statistics include national income and
expenditures from 1963 to 2011, government finance, population, employment, wages,
productivity, prices, debt measures, corporate finance, and international statistics.
The report is also available from the GPO website at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/
collection.action?collectionCode=ERP. A searchable database of the Economic Report of the
President for each year from 1995 to the present is also available at this site. Spreadsheet files
from Appendix B of the report can be accessed at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/ERP-2012/
content-detail.html.
(GPO stock number 040-000-00789-0, $37, 452 pages)
Agency Budget Justifications
Each summer, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issues instructions to all federal
executive departments and agencies for submitting budget data and materials for inclusion in the
President’s budget documents. These instructions are in a document entitled, Circular No. A-11:
Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget. After the President’s budget documents
are released in February, Congress begins to hold hearings on agency budget requests. Agencies
must submit their budget justifications to the appropriations subcommittees holding the hearings.
Budget justifications generally contain more detailed descriptions of an agency’s proposals and
programs than is provided in the President’s budget documents. As mandated by Section 22.6 of
the 2006 edition of Circular A-11 and subsequent editions, beginning with the FY2008 budget
Congressional Research Service
3

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

cycle, agencies are required to post their congressional budget justification materials on the
Internet within two weeks of transmittal to Congress.2
Typically, administration request data appear along with actual numbers for the immediate
previous fiscal year. The content and structure of these submissions may vary and some materials
may not be entirely comprehensive of all the data and information provided to Congress every
fiscal year.3 A short overview on the agency justification requests can be found within CRS
Report RS20268, Agency Justification of the President’s Budget, by Bill Heniff Jr..
FY2013 Budget justification documents for each executive agency may be accessed through the
following links:
• Department of Agriculture
http://www.obpa.usda.gov/explan_notes.html
• Department of Commerce
http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY13CBJ.html
• Department of Defense
http://comptroller.defense.gov/budget2013.html
• Department of Education
http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget13/justifications/index.html
• Department of Energy
http://energy.gov/about-us/budget-performance
• Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.hhs.gov/budget/
• Department of Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/budget/dhs-budget.shtm
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/fy2013budget
• Department of the Interior
http://www.doi.gov/budget/
• Department of Justice
http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2013justification/
• Department of Labor
http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/
• Department of State
http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/statecbj/2013/

2 Circular A-11 is available on the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
circulars_a11_current_year_a11_toc. See Section 22.6.
3Additional data may also be available directly from the agencies themselves via listed congressional liaison or
governmental affairs contacts in CRS Report 98-446, Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies, by
Audrey Celeste Crane-Hirsch. A listing of agencies included within each of the 12 regular appropriations bills is
available in CRS Report R40958, United States v. Comstock: Legislative Authority Under the Necessary and Proper
Clause, by Charles Doyle.
Congressional Research Service
4

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

• Department of Transportation
http://www.dot.gov/budget/2013/budgetestimates.html
• Department of the Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/Pages/cj-index.aspx
• Department of Veterans Affairs
http://www.va.gov/budget/products.asp
Additional Comparative Budget Data by Agency
and Account
Public Budget Database, Fiscal Year 2013
OMB maintains a publicly accessible database in Excel and comma delimited format called the
Public Budget Database. This resource provides account level detail data for: budget authority for
the years FY1976 to FY2017, and budget outlays and budget receipts for FY1962 to FY2017.
This resource is available on the GPO FY2013 Budget website at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET. A user’s guide in PDF format is also
available on this site by clicking on the expandable tab for the document.
Congressional Budget Office
Budget and Economic Outlook: FY2012-FY2022
CBO’s baseline budget projections span 10 years in its budget reports. The Budget and Economic
Outlook includes separate chapters on the economic outlook, outlays, and receipts. The data and
projections cover FY2012 through FY2022. This document, released in January 2012, also
includes discussions on current economic conditions. The report is available on the CBO website
at http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12699&type=1.
CBO provides additional context to its Budget and Economic Outlook through a page on its
website, entitled “Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 Through 2022,” at
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12699. This page contains an interactive graph that shows
the budgetary effects of selected policy alternatives on the CBO baseline. CBO also provides
historical and current budget and economic information, including its monthly budget review, at
http://www.cbo.gov/topics/budget.
(GPO stock number052-070-07640-2, $29, 147 pages)
Analysis of the President’s FY2013 Budget
This report provides an analysis of the President’s budgetary proposals and CBO’s updated
baseline budget projections. The FY2013 report is available on the CBO website at
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43083.
Congressional Research Service
5

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

(GPO ordering information is currently not available.)
GPO Ordering Information
Printed copies of budget documents are available for purchase from GPO using Discover,
MasterCard, Visa, or American Express cards.
• online at the GPO website, at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/budget.jsp;
• by telephone, (866) 512-1800 or (202) 512-0132;
• by fax, (202) 512-2104; or
• by mail (check or money order), addressed to U.S. Government Printing Office,
P.O. Box 979050, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.
Depository Libraries
Budget documents are often available for reference use at large public or university libraries, or
any library participating in the Federal Library Depository Program. Addresses of the closest
depository libraries can be obtained through a local library or from GPO’s Customer Services
department, (866) 512-1800 or (202) 512-1800. Internet users may obtain this information from
the GPO website, at http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp (click on “FDLP Public Page”).
Websites on Budget Legislation
Congressional Staff
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has developed (for Members of Congress and their
staffs) two websites covering the budget and appropriations process for congressional offices.
• Appropriations and Budget Analysis. For CRS products on appropriations
status, jurisdictions, processes, current appropriations bills, and other budget-
related resources, Members and congressional staff can access the CRS website
at http://www.crs.gov/Pages/clis.aspx?cliid=73. The CRS Appropriations Status
Table is available at http://www.crs.gov/Pages/AppropriationsStatusTable.aspx.
• CRS Products on the Federal Budget Process. Explanations of budget
concepts, terminology, congressional and executive budget process,
congressional budget timetable, budget resolutions and reconciliation, the
authorization and appropriations process, entitlements and discretionary
spending, the Budget Enforcement Act, sequestration, and surpluses/deficits are
available from the CRS website at http://www.crs.gov/analysis/Pages/
CongressionalOperations.aspx (see links under the heading “Budget Process”).
Congressional Research Service
6

---

FY2013 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Public Use
The public may access THOMAS, the legislative website produced by the Library of Congress at
http://thomas.loc.gov. The site includes a Status Table of Appropriations with links to bills,
committee and conference reports, and votes for the 12 regular and any supplemental
appropriations bills. The THOMAS Status Table of Appropriations is available at
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app12.html.

Author Contact Information

Jared Conrad Nagel

Information Research Specialist
jnagel@crs.loc.gov, 7-2468

Congressional Research Service
7

---